Morocco Economy to grow by more than 4% in year 2014

Morocco: Economy to grow by more than 4% in 2014

The Moroccan economy is forecast to grow by 4.5 percent this year, but the number of corporate insolvencies could rise by 10 percent to more than 7,000 because of structural adjustments in public finance, according to Euler Hermes. In a report on the economic situation in Morocco,the insurer says that the country would benefit from the modest activity growth in the Euro zone in 2014, but warns of debt delinquency and business failure. “It would essentially be small and medium sized enterprises which will suffer the most,” said Mr Ludovic Subran, Euler Hermes' chief economist. Significant investments in infrastructure and transport have made Morocco a “champion in the Mediterranean”, says Mr Tawfik Benzakour, Euler Hermes ACMAR CEO. He added: “Morocco has invested heavily in upgrading its infrastructure. The next step is human and social capital investment to sustain the vibrancy of its growth momentum and position as the 'batal' (champion) of the Mediterranean.” He says that for further economic growth, Morocca needs to regularise the informal economy, provide investor protection and develops the credit market. At present, half of all transactions in the country are conducted in cash. Meanwhile, insurance penetration in Morocco, which is the second largest insurance market in Africa, reached 3.14 percent in 2012, according to the annual report of the Department of Insurance and Social Welfare. Total premiums grew by 8.9 percent to MAD25.84 billion (US$3.14 billion) in 2012 from MAD23.73 billion the previous year, according to the local media citing the report. In 2012, non-life business accounted for 66 percent, or MAD17.07 billion, of total premiums. Of this, motor business – which was the biggest non-life segment - accounted for MAD8.02 billion. Accident, health and maternity insurance was the second largest class of business with premiums of MAD2.94 billion. The life insurance sector reported total premiums of MAD8.77 billion in 2012, representing an increase of 14.7 percent over 2011. Reinsurance premiums stood at MAD187.68 million, of which MAD124.88 million was for non-life business with the remaining being life. There are 18 insurance companies in Morocco, including three cooperatives. There are also 1,600 insurance intermediaries in the country. Around a third of the intermediaries are established in the Grand-Casablanca administrative region, followed by 12 percent in Rabat-Zemmour-Zaër and 8.6 percent in Tanger-Tétouan. There are, in addition, more than 5,200 bank branches offering bancassurance services, with a strong concentration in Casablanca, Rabat and Oriental. 

News Source : www.meinsurancereview.com